Assorted rants, posts, support, whatnot for those of us who deal with eating disorders, recovery from them, and participation from a real, loving, involved Creator! He's amazing! "Arise!"

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Craving?

Valentine’s
Day is all about cravings, isn’t it? We can’t escape the hard sell: heart
shaped candy, expensive roses, jewelry and romantic cards all point to that
deep craving for love in us. How are you faring with the craving situation? What
are you pining for; what are you craving?

Those of us
who struggle with addiction know all too well about the insidious, impulsive
craving situation. The definition of the word reads as follows:

Yeah, that covers
it. It’s that “thing” which speaks to us, drives us, tempts us and promises us
that with it, be it substance, person, relationship, fixation or object, we’ll
have the answers we need for our lives; we’ll be happy, peaceful and feel that warm
fuzzy, if not vague, feeling of “love.”

So, how do
we get on that rollercoaster in the first place?

Craving- Just Trying It:

It starts by
tasting. Ah, yes, nothing like getting hooked, huh? Ever since that apple in Genesis,
temptation and tasting have gone hand in hand.

Before we go
any further, let’s give Eve a break. First of all, it was never in her plan to
eat the apple and of course, experience that great fall into sin that we now
grapple with to this day. Just like none of us go looking to becoming addicted,
making horrible, destructive choices which negatively impact our lives. But
there is a start to it somewhere, right?

“But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden…”

Genesis 3:3

Like Eve, we
go about our lives and, sooner or later, we spot our very own apple. It looks
great, appealing, problem solving, peace giving.

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of
the fruit thereof, and did eat…”

Genesis 3:6

And so, we
try it. We try it for whatever reason.

For some of
us, we are coping with abusive or painful experiences; we need an escape. For
others, it’s a strategy to cover the deep insecurities of not being “good
enough.” Some of us also fall into the cliché peer pressure, trying to be cool,
trying to fit in and find our place. These are just a few possible reasons we
try something. But look closer. Look beyond the immediate reason. See anything?
Do you see the need for Elohim’s love yet?

I know. It
can sound cliché. You may even be rolling your eyes at the concept as you read
this. But think about how prevalent the love concept is today. Love songs,
advertising to make us more beautiful, handsome and desirable and countless
online dating sites are a few examples of the power of love. You’ve listened to
a love song, bought some perfume or cologne and thought about dating once or
twice, haven’t you?

And now,
let’s go to Valentine's Day, which just hits you over the head with it. We are
bombarded with the selling point telling us we need and want love. So, bring
out the cupids, everything red, pink and heart-shaped! And bring out the
unrealistic expectations, the disappointment and the food, drug and alcohol
stupors, as we realize that, for whatever reason, the Valentine’s Day love
promise didn’t deliver for us. So, we rationalize, perhaps, let’s taste
something-try something- else. And around and around we go!

That’s part
of the problem. Many of us don’t know Him or we believe the lies about Him. Again, let’s go back to Genesis.

“And the serpent said unto the woman, ‘Ye shall not surely die.’”

Genesis 3:4

If Eve was
deceived, how could any of us expect to avoid the trap ourselves? Whether it’s
a lie telling us our craving, our addiction or vice is not harmful or it’s a
lie telling us our Creator isn’t real, doesn’t love us and won’t help us in our lives,
we fall for it constantly. We can be the most educated and sophisticated, but
we still fall for it.

It’s
because, at our core, we’re still, somehow convinced that our choice of things
to try is tastier than The Most High. Tastier might mean more relevant, powerful,
soothing or rewarding. Regardless of what it personally means to us, the
scripture, is right on target!

“As it is written:
‘There is no one righteous, not even one; There is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God.’”

Romans 3:10-11

Now, how’s that for warm and fuzzy! It’s not to
make us feel like slimy garden slugs, but it is a reality check we can apply to our own addictions and compulsions.
We are more convinced that object of our craving/addiction is our answer than
we are that our Father already is!

You see,
back to Genesis, Eve was already loved, valued and considered by Elohim, as she
was. She didn’t need to add anything “extra” to that reality. But somewhere,
she entertained the lie telling her otherwise. And that’s where things went
awry.

Instead of
already tasting The Most High, savoring her current situation, she went looking- and
tasting- elsewhere. That’s where we go astray. What if, in all of our
searching, we tried Him?

“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”

Psalm 34:8

What if we
refused?

“Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in
them.”

Psalms 107:5

Well, that’s appealing! But, sadly, how many
of us have suffered some kind of “bottom” experience, fainting in some way because we refused the Divine. It’s not Elohim Who
has distanced Himself from us; it’s us choosing to move further away from Him.

You’ve
probably heard about “the black hole” or “the bottomless pit.” These terms are
often used to describe the addictive state. It’s that endless searching, that
despair-filled, frantic approach we engage in, just to stop our pain. Maybe
you’ve even heard about the “God-shaped hole” inside each one of us. Having a
need or, more accurately, an unmet
need, is not a sin; it’s human. But that “God-shaped hole” means precisely
that. It’s for The Most High only. And He has
promised to fill it with Him, not anything or anyone else.

“Blessed are they which do hunger and
thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

So, we may
feel hungry and thirsty, but there is a remedy: our Savior.

“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of
life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me
shall never thirst.”

John 6:35

I’m not
trying to dismiss your pain or your struggles with addictions, compulsions or
disorders. They are real; they are painful. But please never forget there is a
real Source, with real answers and a real response to your longing:

“For he satisfieth the longing soul,
and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”

Psalms 107:9

There’s more
to this response than filling, however. What is the point to it all? What is
Elohim's first and largest response?
C’mon, it’s not too hard to decipher. It’s Love.

“God is Love”

1 John 4:16

We crave His
love and we don’t even know it. That’s the spiritual root of the addictive
nature. We go out looking for what we already have. He tells us over and over
again, we already have it:

“Since you
were precious in my sight… I have loved you…”

Isaiah 43:4

“…‘Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.’”

Jeremiah
31:3

“We love him, because he first loved us.”

1 John 4:19

And nothing,
no craving, no addiction, choice or circumstance can ever keep Him from loving us!

“For I am persuaded
that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor
things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth nor any other created
thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39

And then, to
top it all off, there’s our Messiah:

“For God
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

Are you
craving something right now? A drink? A drug? Some ice cream or comfort food? A
relationship or activity which is bad for you? Why not turn that craving in a
different direction? Why not turn it to The Most High?

Believe it
or not, He craves YOU!!!

“…‘Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love...”

Jeremiah
31:3

Feed that
craving now, with you, all of you, as you
are now! Our Creator is addicted to loving YOU! That’s a craving meant to satisfy!

About Me

Author and speaker Sheryle Cruse’s passion has been toward encouraging and empowering both young girls and women to come to a personal relationship with Christ and live their lives free from the damage of their life experiences. This is most recently displayed in her Christian self-help book on eating disorders, Thin Enough: My Spiritual Journey Through the Living Death of an Eating Disorder. Released by New Hope Publishers, it is a personal journey from “glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18) for Sheryle, as well as a spiritual war cry to girls and women everywhere to rise in Christ, no matter what disorder, obstacle or argument tries to come against them. Sheryle Cruse currently lives in Minnesota with her husband, Russell, writing and speaking on the recovery process.